The countdown is on as Aberdeen prepare to welcome their conquering heroes back to Pittodrie. Will it be the last time?
A weekend of celebrations is planned from May 11 to commemorate the football club’s greatest sporting triumph as the European Cup Winners’ Cup winning team of 1983 will be honoured.
The Gothenburg Greats, the greatest team ever to wear the shirt, will be recognised on the 40th anniversary and it is fitting that Pittodrie should be where they will be honoured.
Sir Alex Ferguson and his players provided the greatest moment in the club’s history in Gothenburg, but they were also front and centre of Pittodrie’s greatest night when they beat Bayern Munich 3-2 in the quarter-final.
A success story which ended in Sweden, was built at the home of the Dons – and that’s why one last chance to celebrate the team’s achievement should take place there.
Road to Gothenburg was paved at Pittodrie
The team of the 1980s made Pittodrie what it was and chances for them to gather together are precious.
Time waits for no-one, not even bricks and mortar – and Pittodrie, like those fabulous players who graced it, is not getting any younger.
It is unlikely Pittodrie will still be the home of the Dons come the 45th anniversary in 2028. It’s a certainty it won’t be by the time the 50th anniversary rolls round in 2033.
The club and the team will be awarded the Freedom of the City on Friday, May 12 in front of the fans before the players return to take their bow in front of what is sure to be a packed Pittodrie on either the Saturday or Sunday for the club’s as yet undetermined home league fixture.
The images of these great players adorn the walls of the stadium and so they should. They did more than anyone to build the reputation of the club which still exists today.
Players should be inspired by the achievement of those who came before them
Those glory-laden years may be gone but the sense of pride and goodwill towards the club, which they created, still remains.
There are some who feel the success of this side looms large over the club.
And so it should.
It is an inspirational and aspirational tale which should be told over and over again.
The players from a provincial club who rose to prominence against the dominant big two from Glasgow to leave them cowering in their wake.
The same players then took on Europe’s best and beat them then went a step further than any Scottish team has managed in winning two European trophies.
Those two stars on the shirt are as important as the badge below it.
The fans wear it with pride in recognition of what these men achieved, while every team of Aberdeen players since have been, are and will be duty-bound to have the same aspiration as these great men did.
Will what the class of 1983 achieved be repeated in the club’s history? It seems unlikely. But that does not mean any player should fear following in these giants’ footsteps by aiming to be the very best they can be.
They are testament to what a strong manager and a strong dressing room full of committed players can achieve when they pull together for one goal.
What Dons fans would give for some of that magical formula today.
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